. >>> passionate plea from president obama about gun control, among many other things, during his state of the union address. this as he hits the road today to rally support for his proposal. let's get to chuck todd. >> good morning, savannah. the speech was really a tale of two speeches. there was the traditional state of the union part of it. a speech that was filled, dominated by the economy and other familiar-sounding domestic proposals, but then it was an unusual, emotional ending to the speech. and it's that that will probably leave the lasting impression. >> they deserve a vote. >> reporter: an emotional refrain to end president obama's state of the union address, as the president invoked victims of gun violence in america. >> it is not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-base. >> reporter: the economy, invoking a phrase he used a lot in 2012, the middle class. >> a growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs, that must be the north star that guides our efforts. >> reporter: and taking a page from the last democ